Authorities in Rutherford County, North Carolina, reported that a 15-year-old girl shot and killed her mother's boyfriend when she saw him physically assaulting her and threatening to kill her along with her three children.

46-year-old Steven Kelley attacked his girlfriend, Chandra Nierman, last week at her residence on the 100 block of Lakeview Drive in Forest City, according to Rutherford County sheriff’s deputies. Authorities further informed that Nierman had recently moved to the location from Indiana with her three children, including two girls, aged 15 and 16, and a 12-year-old boy. The children have not been named because they are minors.

As the assault on Nierman intensified, Kelley repeatedly yelled that he was going to slit her throat and kill each member of her family as he continued to strangle the mother-of-three. It was then that her 12-year-old son decided to take matters into his own hands and grabbed a gun, investigators said.

“During the assault, the deceased male was yelling that he was going to cut Nierman’s throat and kill everyone in the house,” the department’s statement read.

Authorities stated in a news release that “(The victim’s) 15-year-old daughter took the gun from her brother and fired it twice, striking … (Kelley) in the chest.”

Responding officers arrived at the home at around 12.10 am on August 8 to find Kelley's lifeless body on the floor. Officials said that the victim “suffered significant bruises and contusions” from Kelley’s assault. One of the bullets reportedly fragmented and injured the victim's 16-year-old daughter, grazing her leg.

However, she was taken to Spartanburg Regional Hospital where she was released the following day, deputies said.

It seems Kelley had threatened his girlfriend numerous times before the incident on August 9, according to deputies. Just days before his death, Kelley had attacked Nierman and “fired multiple rounds from inside the residence to threaten and terrorize (her),” authorities said.

Officials described Kelley as “a convicted felon who had two active domestic violence protection orders against him from two different women in Indiana and Ohio" in a released statement.Having said that, before last week's attack, there were no domestic violence or assault related complaints about Kelley registered with Rutherford County deputies, according to reports.

However, the victim's 15-year-old daughter will not be facing any charges for the shooting after the sheriff’s office argued the case was a “justified” shooting, according to authorities with the Rutherford County District Attorney’s Office said.

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MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. We are one of the world’s fastest growing
media-tech companies with hubs around the world. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of
reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader.